Zenless Zone Zero: the FLINTWORKS code gives 300 Polychromes — it expires Sunday, August 30 at 3:59 p.m. UTC, and sooner if supplies run out

HoYoverse has finally released the redemption code from the special program for version 3.2: FLINTWORKS. It's worth 300 Polychromes, plus currency and materials, and it dies on Sunday, August 30 at 3:59 PM UTC — before the very version it announces has even launched.

A clarification we owe you: our article from August 28 stated that the code would only be readable on screen, during the livestream. The publisher changed its practice and republished it on the 28th at 12:15 PM UTC in its "Special Program | Intel Report." If you missed the broadcast, your Polychromes are still there.

The deadline is shown in UTC+8: redo the math

The infographic reads Valid Until 08.30, 23:59:59 (UTC+8). Converted to universal time, the deadline falls at 3:59 PM UTC on Sunday - 11:59 a.m. ET, 8:59 a.m. PT, 4:59 p.m. BST. So you have a full day, not two, and not Sunday evening.

Except the clock isn't the only judge. HoYoverse writes it in black and white, right under the code: "Limited in number and available until all codes are redeemed. Each account can only redeem once." The displayed date is a ceiling, not a promise — a special program code could very well run dry sometime on Saturday. That's the reason there's no point in waiting until tomorrow morning.

What FLINTWORKS drops in your mailbox

Let's be honest about the real weight of this bundle: the 300 Polychromes are the only line that matters. The 30,000 Denny can be picked up in a few combat simulations, and two copies of the Senior Investigator Log won't level up an agent. This is thirty seconds of button-pressing for a net gain, not an event.

The exact path, as given by the publisher

1. MENU — in the top-left corner (in-game);
2. MORE;
3. REDEMPTION CODE;
4. ENTER REDEMPTION CODE;
5. REDEEM.

This is the only path documented by the infographic. It doesn't mention HoYoverse's code redemption webpage: if you go through that instead, you're outside the official instructions for this particular code.

Three conditions you shouldn't discover along the way

• Only one redemption per account. No do-over on a second character, no double entry.
• A brand-new account can't cash in. HoYoverse specifies it: "Unlock the Mail and Redemption Code functions during the Prologue 'Business x Strangeness x Justness.'" A friend who installs the game this weekend must first finish the prologue — otherwise the entry screen doesn't exist for them.
• Mail expires too. Rewards arrive via in-game mail, and "the mail will expire in 30 days, so please claim before it expires." Entering the code isn't enough, then: you have to open the mailbox and claim it. The 300 Polychromes are lost if the letter sits there until the end of September.

While the menu is still open: the Beginner Guide pays out again in 3.2

The same Intel Report announces an update to the Beginner Guide rewards, and that's the real good news for recent accounts. Two exclusive gifts come attached to it:

• a limited S-Rank Agent of your choice among Jane, Hugo, and Soldier 0 - Anby, obtained simply by opening the Beginner Guide;
• a limited S-Rank W-Engine of your choice among Sharpened Stinger, Myriad Eclipse, and Severed Innocence, taken from the phase rewards once the designated Beginner Guide missions have been completed.

The key takeaway lies in one sentence from the publisher: "Proxies who did not claim their Agent and W-Engine of choice in Version 3.1 can claim them starting from Version 3.2." In other words, missing out in 3.1 isn't a lost cause. If you started the game this summer and left that menu untouched, go reopen it: a free S-rank agent weighs infinitely more than any redemption code.

Koleda joins the Potential Vision system

Under the heading Agent Enhancements, HoYoverse announces that "Proxies who own the Agent Koleda can activate their Agent's potential through the Potential Vision system to upgrade their combat experience." Koleda is part of the standard S-rank pool, the one you pull without targeting: many accounts have had her sitting on the bench for months.

No figures accompany the announcement, and the publisher stamps the entire infographic with the note "in development, not representative of the post-release version." So it's impossible to say today how much of a boost she'll get. What can be said is that there's no point dismantling her or recycling her Discs before 3.2.

The readability detail no one will notice

Still within the same batch of optimizations: starting in 3.2, a gold flash indicates that a skill can be countered with a Defensive Assist, while a red flash indicates that it cannot. Until now, you had to know attacks by heart to tell when a Defensive Assist would land. This is free combat information, and it's likely worth more, over time, than FLINTWORKS' 300 Polychromes.

What remains is the order of priorities for this weekend: redeem the code today, claim the mail right after, then reopen the Beginner's Guide if your account is still eligible.